OMG finally the fourth chapter! 'Kay, so a few of you have been asking about the letter. She's not gonna read it till after she uhmm.. goes to find Jacob. It'll probably be in the 5th or 6th chapter. I decided to give you a long chapter cuz idk when i'm gonna be able to update next. Enjoy!
Charlie was still asleep when I awoke the next morning. I slipped out of bed and, once again, descended the stairs as quietly as possible. Once in the kitchen, I grabbed two Pop-Tarts from a box in the cabinet and scribbled a note to Charlie, telling him that I would be spending the weekend with Alice. It wasn't an actual lie, sort of a deception, as he would probably guess she was dragging me shopping. Pop-Tarts in hand, I shuffled out the door, smiling as the sense of déjà vu I felt doing so.
"Bella!" Alice squealed, throwing open the door before I had a chance to knock. "Vacationnnnn," she sang, pulling me into the house. "I already packed for you," she said matter-of factly. Her elation was contagious that I just had to smile.
"Where are we going? New York? Vegas?" She fixed her golden eyes on me, sparkling with pure excitement.
I perked up. If she couldn't see where we were going, then maybe,,,
"Canada," I informed her, slightly distracted. I could see her try to hide her obvious disappointment and felt as if I was possibly just using her.
"Oh. W hat's in Canada." Alice asked suspiciously.
I grinned. "Well, hopefully a mall."
Her face lit up and she squealed again, hugging me. I planned to tell her the other reason for the sudden decision to leave the country when it was too late to reconsider. I waited downstairs while Alice dashed, quite literally, up the stairs to retrieve our bags.
"So what brought this on, Bella?" Esme asked me.
I shrugged, "She's been dying," I paused, considering rephrasing, as "dying" was not a word used in favor of vampires, but shook it off. "to take me shopping for a while and I figured it'll lighten the mood a bit."
She nodded, understanding. Suddenly, she laughed and I froze. I turned to see Alice perched atop a very large suitcase. Another one of the same size sat next to it, accompanied by three bulging duffel20bags. I grimaced and was just about to remind Alice that that I had only planned to be gone for the weekend, not the next two months, but she held up a hand.
"I know it looks like a bunch, but I only packed the necessities."
I raised an eyebrow. "What exactly constitutes as the necessities, Alice? The entire contents of both your room and the bathroom?"
Emmett, who I just noticed lounging on the couch, chuckled loudly. Alice sneered. She hopped off the suitcase and I watched in awe as she picked up and carried what must have been at least a hundred and fifty pounds of baggage, waiting for the weight to overwhelm her and cause her to topple over. With such a small and seemingly delicate body, one would think that's just what would happen. But Alice didn't even break a sweat. As if she could. As she passed, she evil-eyed the remaining untouched Pop-Tart, still clutched in my fist. Shaking her head, she hauled the luggage effortlessly toward the garage. I stared down at the remainder of my breakfast, confused. I shrugged and turned d to follow her, but not before hugging Esme again and saying goodbye to the rest of her—my—family.
"Be safe," Esme called as I walked away, and I nodded.
When I stepped into the garage, I found Alice, finished packing our bags into the trunk, sitting on the hood of her yellow sports car inspecting her fingernails. I moved toward her, avoiding a certain shiny vehicle that was, at the moment, very conspicuous right out of my line of vision. She looked up to smile at me and gracefully stepped down from the car.
"So, where exactly are we headed?" she asked, getting into her car.
I followed suit. "Well, I thought we'd try Vancouver first…"
Alice nodded in agreement and started the car. I clicked on my seatbelt as she backed down the driveway and pealed onto the street. I was pushed back on my seat and I clutched the belt, tightening it on my chest. I'd forgotten how much vampires really liked speed. For the next two hours, Alice's minimum speed stayed at eighty mils an hour. Finally, she turned to me, her mouth twisted into a frown.
"So what was the real reason you wanted to go to Canada? I mean, if it was just for shopping, we could have gone to Seattle or Port Angeles; something closer. Also doesn't help that I can't see anything," she said, the last part more to herself than me.
I took a deep breath before telling her, "I need to find Jacob. To talk to him. I didn't wanna go alone and I figured if I brought you, it would give me and excuse to let you buy me clothes…"
She narrowed her eyes and I was suddenly afraid she might turn around, but she continued driving.
"No wonder I can't see past Saturday. Bella, do you realize how much Edward went through to keep you safe?"
I nodded slowly, trying to comprehend her words.
"Then, for Pete's sake, why do you keep going out of your way to put yourself in danger?"
I gaped at her. After all this, how on earth could she still think of Jacob as "dangerous"? Our conversation ended there, as I refused to answer such a ridiculous question. We drove—or, rather, she drove and I sulked—in silence for abut four more hours. She didn't speak to me again until we crossed the border into the Columbian province.
"Do you need to eat? I can stop somewhere."
I shook my head and told her no, that I would eat once we reached the hotel.
Some thirty minutes later, Alice pulled into the parking lot of a huge and very expensive-looking hotel. I stared at her in utter disbelief.
"We're staying here?" I asked incredulously, gesturing to the enormous building.
"Well…unless you want to stay there," she pointed to a small, cramped motel down the street. The sign looked as if it was once white—fifty years ago. The front office had probably seen better days and some of the doors could have survived a nuclear war. I made a face and she looked smug. We got out of the car and retrieved our luggage from the trunk. Thankful for the clouds overhead, we made our way into the hotel and approached the concierge desk. The woman at the desk looked us up and down, pausing to gape at Alice's stunning beauty. I zoned out for the five minutes it took Alice to get a room, focusing on a small dot on the wall opposite me. I felt Alice touch my shoulder and, still slightly spaced out, followed her to the elevator. We got off on the third floor and she led me down the hall to our room. Alice unlocked and opened the door with added drama. I felt my jaw drop open with an audible pop. To say the room was big would be a massive understatement. My thoughts were more along the lines of gigantic or huge. And that still didn't even begin to cover it. I swore I could fit my entire house in there. Still shocked, I turned to Alice.
"I thought I said we were only staying the weekend, Alice."
Although the way she packed made it seem like we were moving in. She flashed me a brilliant smile before skipping into the suite. Not many people can skip while carrying fifty pounds without seriously hurting themselves; it could have been Guinness material. I followed her in, setting the bags down on the single four-poster bed, sure that she would have them all unpacked before I even had the chance to unzip one of them. She tossed me a Snicker's bar, which I very skillfully dropped.
"It'll go well with your half-assed breakfast," she said, winking.
"Half-assed? What do you have against high-fructose corn syrup?" I asked, picking up the candy and starting to unwrap it.
She snatched it back just as I was about to take a bite. I started to protest but she interrupted me.
"I was kidding. You've had enough junk food today. I'll order up a steak."
"Can you see me eating it?" I asked with a straight face. It didn't last very long.
She ignored me and proceeded to unpack. All of this took about a minute. As she busied herself with ordering room service, I decided to take a well-needed shower. As if reading my mind, Alice tossed a bundle of clean clothes and a bottle of shampoo. Ten minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and smelling of pomegranates. Alice looked at me and nodded approvingly then strode toward me with a brush and a hairdryer. I groaned inwardly but remained silent as her eyes dared me to object. I sat still for the small amount of time it took her to fix my hair. When she was finished, she shoved a mirror in my face. This time, I really did groan. I turned away from the Vile Thing. God, I hated mirrors. Alice scowled at me.
"Voyeurist," I mumbled, almost incoherently, though Alice had no trouble hearing it and whapped me on the arm, probably with more force than she intended.
"So. Now what?" she asked, changing the subject.
I looked up. "Well, I was thinking maybe…"
"You want to go hunt down your werewolf."
I nodded hesitantly and she made a face.
"Fine. But you're eating first. And I mean real food, nothing—"
"Half-assed," I finished for her.
She stuck out her tongue and I dodged the pillow she flung at me. There came a knock at the door and Alice opened it to a young and, admittedly, very attractive guy. His reaction to her was that of a child to a cookie jar. I watched as he gaped at her and almost drop the box he was holding—probably my lunch. Flashing a dazzling smile at the guy, Alice took the box from his shaking hands. He looked as if he were about to wet himself. Smiling again, she politely said thank you and closed the door. She set the box down on the table and drew out a covered plate with actual silverware.
"Nice kid," she said absently.
I scoffed. "Yeah. Typical college kid. He looked like he forgot his own name when you said thanks, Alice."
She giggled and motioned for me to sit. I did so and she plopped down on the sofa while I ate. Once again, I zoned out. You'd think it would appear to be somewhat difficult for one to space out while eating and not spill fod down their front, something for which I was painfully skilled at, but somehow I managed to keep my shirt clean. A while later—I didn't know how long—I looked back to my plate to find it empty. Wow. In that same second, Alice had swept the remnants of my lunch off the table and disappeared with the dishes.
"Show-off," I muttered and heard her chuckle.
She returned, keys dangling from her index finger, and I stood up. She tossed me the room key and I slid it into my pocket. I followed her down to the lobby, pausing at the door when she did.
"Weather's supposed to be crappy. You picked a good day to go hunting, Bella."
I scowled.
"Alice," I said through my teeth. "Usually hunting entails shooting an animal."
She turned to face me and grinned evilly. I narrowed my eyes and walked past her out the door and to the car.
Was it that long? Felt like it.. Anyways.. I'll try to update soon; school starts tomorrow yikes! Thanks so much for reviewing! And if you haven't well get to it ppl! Haha, thanks again!